by
Thomas Dworetzky, Contributing Reporter | October 02, 2015
The space has different workstations, each geared to different challenges, like fluid control or assistive technology.
A “selfie station” in the makerspace isn't about ego. It lets creators of solutions document what they came up with so the techniques, technologies and knowledge can be documented, shared and used by others.
“The MakerHealth space at UTMB will help bring nurse-making to the forefront of health care innovation,” said David Marshall, Chief Nursing and Patient Care Services Officer at the UTMB Health System. “We know nurses have breakthrough ideas for improving health care. Providing them with the space, tools and materials to create these solutions, rather than outsourcing them to engineers and designers, just makes sense.”
All medical staff and health professions students will be able to use the space to devise ingenious solutions to practical care problems.
“We’re excited to see nurses, clinicians, caregivers and patients join together to make health,” said MakerNurse co-founder Anna Young. “We look forward to welcoming more hospitals into the maker health movement.”
MakerNurse has spearheaded this effort with makerspaces in a number of locations nationwide, including Bon Secours St. Mary’s Hospital of Richmond, Virginia; Driscoll Children’s Hospital of Corpus Christi, Texas; Maimonides Medical Center in New York; The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota; South Shore Hospital of South Weymouth, Massachusetts, Sierra Providence Health Network and Texas Tech University Health System of El Paso, Texas.
“Makerspaces will help nurses and others on the front lines of care not just identify problems, but solve them,” said Lori Melichar, director of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, in a statement. “Equipping these innovators with the tools they need to make health care more affordable, effective, and patient-centered will help accelerate a Culture of Health in this country.”
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